Calling on Cyber Pros to Help Defend City Hall

An opinion piece recounts how attackers quietly compromised staff email accounts at a local housing authority, observed how funds were moved, and redirected a wire transfer that stole nearly $1M; the author uses this breach to illustrate how under-resourced state and local agencies hold sensitive data yet lack appropriate security programs. The article advises starting with exposure assessments, prioritizing affordable phased projects (MFA, scoped assessments, incident-response retainers), leading with compliance requirements, and maintaining ongoing relationships to ensure sustained security improvements across small agencies.